TRAIL COUNTS 2016
April 2017 Central Iowa Trails Central Iowa is home to over 600 miles of trails connecting dense, urban cores to natural, rural landscapes. There are trails for all types of uses, including walking, biking, running, cross country skiing and horseback riding. Trails range from loops through parks to long-distance regionally designated routes. The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) annually provides federal funding to regional trail projects through its Surface Transportation Program Set-Aside (STP Set-Aside). This program has helped fund some major trails in the region, including the High Trestle, Gay Lea Wilson, and Chichaqua Valley Trails, among others. 2016 Trail Counts In 2016, the MPO continued the Central Iowa Trail Count Program with counters located at 38 sites selected by communities throughout Central Iowa and reported to the MPO. 1,326,000 Counts were conducted for between 25 and 366 days, depending on the site location. Approximate number of uses The MPO and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Roundtable will use the data to help determine at trail locations during 2016 where future trail investments may be needed.
Trail counters are available to all members of the MPO and the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA). To request the use of a trail counter please contact the MPO.
38Count Locations in 2016
Trail Count Locations Rank by Average Daily Traffic (adt)
Count Days Active ADT
1. Brown’s Woods (Trail Head) 105,105 249 422.1 2. High Trestle Trail (Ankeny Oasis) 48,769 172 283.5 3. Raccoon River Park Loop (West Des Moines) 59,230 221 268.0 4. Clive Greenbelt (Chautauqua Grounds) 84,514 366 230.9 5. Raccoon River Valley Trail (Dallas Center) 36,917 230 160.5 6. High Trestle Trail (Madrid Trailhead) 48,653 310 156.9 7. Jordan Creek Trail (West Des Moines) 56,364 366 154.0 8. Great Western Trail (SE Orilla Rd) 13,712 105 130.6 9. High Trestle Trail (Bridge East) 36,255 311 126.2 10. Raccoon River Valley Trail (Perry) 8,000 68 117.6 TOP 10 IN 2016 LOCATIONS COUNT Based on count locations chosen by requesting communities and reported to the MPO in 2016 TRAIL STATISTICS
Regional Averages Using trail counters placed at sites in 2016 and reported to the MPO, data was pulled to find hourly, daily, and monthly averages for trail usage in the region. The charts below display breakdowns of these averages. 12% Hours of the Day 10% Weekday Weekend 7-Day Avg. 8%
6%
4% % of Daily Totals
2%
0% 5:00a 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00p 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 WEEKDAY use is highest in the evening, while WEEKEND use is spread more evenly between 10:00am and 4:00pm. Typically, weekends see more traffic than weekdays.
Days of the Week Mo EACH LOCATION y nd da ay n SAW AN AVERAGE u 13 S % % 9 1 T OF TRAIL USES u 95
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a 15% y
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10% % of Weekly Totals
% of Yearly Totals % of Yearly 5% In 2016, May saw more traffic than any other month. 0% Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TRAIL COUNTS 2016
City of Des Moines The City of Des Mones has counted trail users annually since 2011 as part of the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project. In 2016, volunteers counted uses at 28 location on trails and streets. Counts are collected over three days and extrapolated using a standardized methodology to estimate the annual trail usage on trail segments within the City of Des Moines. More information on the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project and the City of Des Moines trails can be found here:
http://www.dmgov.org/Departments/Parks/Pages/Trails.aspx 5,516,489 Estimated number of trail uses at trail locations counted during 2016 City of Des Moines Count Locations
Trail Pavement Condition The Data Bike is a proof-of-concept initiative by the Des Moines Metropolitan Planning Organization in parternership with the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Using an app that senses the roughness of pavement, the Data Bike will generate data scoring the condition of trails. Additionally, the Data Bike will be equipped with two cameras to collect imagery of the trails. One camera will geo-reference photos of the pavement to assist in trail inspections. A second camera will capture 360 degree imagery along trails for Google Street View. Trails condition data will be collected during the summer of 2017.